At sixteen, Anne Shirley is almost grown up. Her gray eyes shine like evening stars, but her red hair is still as peppery as her temper. In the years since she arrived at Green Gables as a freckle-faced orphan, she has earned the love of the people of Avonlea—and a reputation for getting into scrapes. But when Anne begins her job as the new Avonlea schoolteacher, the real test of her character begins.

While teaching the three R's, Anne is also learning how complicated life can be when she meddles in someone else's romance, finds two new orphans at Green Gables, and wonders about the strange behavior of the very handsome Gilbert Blythe. As Anne enters womanhood, her adventures touch the heart and the funny bone.